There’s nothing more exciting than a new romance, especially when you’re on Cloud 9 and you think that this person is just the greatest person you’ve ever met. There’s a reason they call the early part of a relationship/marriage “the honeymoon phase”.
Because as time goes on, people’s true colors are revealed. And if you’re lucky it’s the just common flaws that all people have and not something more sinister. The 1996 movie Fear, along with every other obsessed stalker movie, took this idea to a terrifying place.
It’s a movie that was never really considered a classic in its day, but its reputation has definitely gotten better over time. So in honor of its 25th anniversary today, we thought it would be fitting to look at 25 fun facts about Fear!
1. The movie was initially conceived as a teenage version of Fatal Attraction, according to producer Brian Grazer.
2. Screenwriter Christopher Crowe had previously written The Last of the Mohicans and created The Untouchables TV series.
3. It was also somewhat inspired by a 1993 Bollywood movie, also titled Fear.
4. Leonardo DiCaprio personally recommended Mark Wahlberg to director James Foley after working with him on Basketball Diaries.
5. It was Wahlberg’s 3rd acting role in a theatrical movie, following his musical career as “Marky Mark” (which he gets mad if you bring up today).
6. According to Mark Wahlberg, he kept getting movie offers to play rappers but he felt like they were bad movies and that Fear was something that intrigued him and he really wanted to do.
7. William Peterson (Nicole’s father) had previously appeared in Manhunter as Will Graham, another movie in which he dealt with psychopaths.
8. Foley had previously directed Glengarry Glenn Ross and several Madonna music videos in the 80’s.
9. Initially Mark Wahlberg wasn’t taken seriously as a contender for the role of David. But James Foley agreed to let him audition for one of the gang members, but since they didn’t have enough lines, he wound up reading David’s lines.
10. After seeing Wahlberg’s audition, Foley threatened to not do the movie at all unless he was cast.
11. Originally, Liv Tyler was offered the lead role of Nicole, but turned it down.
12. The script specifically mentioned that Nicole’s friend Gary was gay, but this detail didn’t make it into the final movie.
13. David keeps a Chucky doll on his shelf in his bedroom, as seen when the father, Steve tears apart his house.
14. The roller coaster that David and Nicole is a real ride at Playland Amusement Park, which is still open today in Vancouver.
15. It’s the same theme park from the opening scene of Final Destination 3.
16. Production lasted from September to December 1994, but the movie sat on the self for more than a year, finally getting released in April 1996.
17. David’s line “Let me in the f**king house!” was initially cut by Foley, but Brian Grazer insisted it be included, and it wound up being one of the most famous lines in the movie.
18. Despite getting negative reviews, it was still a box office success, grossing $20.8 million on a $6.5 million budget.
19. One of the rare movies where iconic critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert disagreed completely. Siskel thought the movie was nothing but trash, whereas Ebert thought it was genuinely scary and good at creating tension.
20. Over the year, Fear’s reputation has gotten better and it’s become something of a cult classic. Many look back and admire the performances from the very young Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon.
21. The movie’s score was composed by Carter Burwell, who would go on to compose the score for Twilight, True Grit, Seven Psychopaths, and Thor: The Dark World.
22. Bravo ranked in #19 on their 30 Even Scarier Movie Moments.
23. Mark Wahlberg was nominated for Best Villain at the MTV Movie Awards, but lost to Jim Carrey in The Cable Guy.
24. Ranked #8 on Watchmojo’s “Top 10 Stalker Movies”.
25. As of 2019, Universal and Imagine Entertainment had announced they were doing a remake with the same title. However, since everything that happened in 2020, there’s been no further word or updates on it.
Which of these did you already know? Which ones surprised you? Let us know in the comments!
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